Govt may believe it got away with another act of bullish ineptitude

Dear Editor,
The Local Government Commission (LGC) is finally brought into being and its establishment was not easily achieved. This writer advocated almost weekly for more than a year for the expeditious establishment of the long overdue Commission, supported by other civil and bold enough persons who used the print and non-print media as well as the social network to speak out against the brutal manipulation and stifling of the local government system by the coalition Government.
While all Guyanese perhaps welcomed the establishment, the forged acclaim by the Government must be accepted with a pinch of salt, since the appointment of the members of the Commission did not occur easily.
In fact, it came with a somewhat forked “sleight of the hand” twist, that informs the need for continued scrutiny in ensuring balanced representation and decisions that favour or support meaningful interest of our Local Government Organs. It is acceptable that some observance over a reasonable time of operations is given.
For all purposes, however, the measured caution advanced in this edition, comes in light of the sleight of hand twist referred. The Local Government Commission Act of 2013 pronounces definitively on the composition of the Commission. The current situation however highlights yet another move by President David Granger to twist the constitutional meaning in favour of his party. The Act clearly provides that one of the members must be appointed after consultation with the Local Government Organs and this was not adhered to after all the delays.
The responsible Minister, Ronald Bulkan, by law, was supposed to consult with the Regional Democratic Councils (RDC), all Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) and the municipalities in choosing one of the Commissioners. It is also public knowledge that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic won more than two-thirds of the Local Authority Areas and this may have been the reason for his non-consultative approach.
The Minister without any discussion or consultation with the RDCs and NDCs went ahead and appointed Marlon Williams, the Alliance For Change’s (AFC) General Secretary, as a member of the Commission. It is a sad state of affairs which came into being because the AFC was not consulted in the process of identifying the three Government representatives. Thus to patronise the AFC in the People’s National Congress controlled coalition, the Granger Government decided to place an AFC Executive on the Commission to hold the peace.
As expected, the reasons for the appointment of Williams as a member of the Commission, and without any consultations with the Local Government Organs, drew blatant and shamelessly stupid responses from the Communities Minister. He had the temerity to mention that he had consultations with the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM), a recently founded brainchild of the coalition Government that has been entrusted with coordinative responsibilities between the municipalities on behalf of the coalition.
The Minister knows fully well that GAM is not recognised in the Municipal and District Council Act, therefore it is not an essential complement of the Local Government Organs. Additionally, this so-called association has no jurisprudence and is merely a coalition political haven to carry out the mandate of the Government as it relates to the municipalities. Further, President Granger MUST also know that Williams was not fit and properly selected.
The Government may feel that it got away with another act of bullish ineptitude. In the context however, admiration must be given to the Opposition Leader for his approach of dealing with this as another unconstitutional and dictatorial appointment. We all know so well that the stifling of work in elected Local Authority Areas can never work in the long term.
It is of note that monies were appropriated in the 2016 as well as the 2017 National Budgets to support functions of the LGC. Concurrent, we see the Minister advancing staff support to the LGC functions using staff of the Communities Ministry. The question must be asked regarding the monies that were budgeted for these purposes. Minister Bulkan should read the Local Government Commission Act to update himself that the Minister has no authority over the Commission.
As for the management, financial accounting and the evaluation of the work of the LGC it is imperative that certain basics are put in place. The LGC must have an ORGANOGRAM, Operations Manual along with a budget for its Capital and Current expenditures. In addition, for the smooth financial processes and accountability, there must be linkages with the IFMAS and MISU systems.
Further, we look forward to the planned and structured approach by the Commission, evidence by inclusive meetings and clear guide lines to the elected councils under its mandate. Transparency and accountability within the constitutional intent and the meaning of all applicable legislation must be pivotal. Importantly, audited financial statements must be prepared annually. Above all, these functions must be accompanied with appropriate remuneration, thus professional and capable staff complement is a required necessity.

Respectfully,
Neil Kumar